U.S. Women to Face Ireland at Torero Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on Sunday, July 23

NewsJun 13, 2006

July Schedule Complete for U.S. Women;USA to Play at Torero Stadium for the Second Time

CHICAGO (June 13, 2006) – The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will face Ireland at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 23, in San Diego, Calif., at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego in the second of three matches in July. All three matches will be broadcast live on ESPN2 as soccer fans across the USA will get a chance to see the new-look U.S. team in its first domestic games of 2006.

The confirmation of the Ireland match completes a three-games-over-three-weekends July schedule that will also see the USA play Sweden on Saturday, July 15, at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., in the USA’s first domestic match of the year. Kickoff for USA-Sweden is set for 5 p.m. CT. After the Ireland match on July 23, the USA will play in Cary, N.C. against Canada at SAS Soccer Park on Sunday, July 30, at 1 p.m. ET. Fans can also follow all three matches on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

Tickets for USA-Ireland will go on sale starting tomorrow, June 14, at 10 a.m. PT online at ussoccer.com, at all San Diego and Southern California area Ticketmaster outlets (including Tower Records, Robinson's-May and Second Spin stores) and by phone at 619-220-8497. (Note: Tickets will be available at Torero Stadium only on the day of the event.) Groups of 15 or more can purchase tickets by logging onto ussoccer.com or calling (312) 528-1290.

The match at Torero Stadium, which holds almost 7,000 fans, will mark the second trip to San Diego for the U.S. women, who tied Japan 0-0 there in the first game of 2003. Ironically, the only U.S. Men’s National Team match ever held at Torero also ended in a 0-0 draw, against Canada, in the first match of 2006 for Bruce Arena’s squad.

The picturesque Torero Stadium has quickly gained a reputation as one of the best small soccer facilities in the country. The match is highly convenient for the U.S. team, which will play in the Midwest on July 15 and on the East Coast on July 30, but will be able to bus to the match in San Diego from its Residency Training Camp in Carson, Calif.

The USA has played Ireland four times in its history and scored five goals in the each of those matches, the most recent being a memorable five-goal performance by Abby Wambach on the “Fan Celebration Tour” after the Olympics in 2004. All five of her goals came in the second half of the match played in Houston, Texas. The meeting with Ireland on June 14, 2003, in Salt Lake City, Utah, was memorable as well, as young forward Heather O’Reilly, who is of course of Irish decent, made her first-ever start for the USA, and within 74 seconds had scored the first goal of the game and broken her leg in a collision with Ireland goalkeeper Emma Byrne on the same play. The injury eventually cost O’Reilly a place on the 2003 Women’s World Cup Team.

Ireland is at the end of the qualification process for the 2007 Women’s World Cup but will not be going to China, sitting fourth out of five teams with two matches left to play in Group 4, which also includes defending Women’s World Cup championship Germany and rising European power Russia.

The U.S. women have played nine matches so far this year, all outside of the country (China, Portugal and Japan), and have a 6-0-3 record. The U.S. team is 14-0-4 since Greg Ryan took over as head coach in March of 2005.

TICKET INFORMATION FOR JULY WNT MATCHES

USA vs. Sweden – July 15, 2006, National Sports Center - Blaine, MinnesotaTickets are on sale online at ussoccer.com, at all Minnesota and Wisconsin area Ticketmaster outlets (including Cash Wise Foods, Hy-Vee Foods, and Marshall Field’s) and by phone at 651-989-5151. Groups of 15 or more can purchase tickets by logging onto ussoccer.com or calling (763) 792-7337.

USA vs. Ireland – July 23, 2006, Torero Stadium – San Diego, Calif.Tickets for USA-Ireland will go on sale starting tomorrow, June 14, at 10 a.m. PT online at ussoccer.com, at all San Diego and Southern California area Ticketmaster outlets (including Tower Records, Robinson's-May and Second Spin stores) and by phone at 619-220-8497. (Note: Tickets will be available at Torero Stadium only on the day of the event.) Groups of 15 or more can purchase tickets by logging onto ussoccer.com or calling (312) 528-1290.

USA vs. Canada - July 30, 2006, SAS Soccer Park – Cary, N.C.Tickets are on sale online at ussoccer.com, at all Cary area Ticketmaster outlets (including Hechts, FYE, and Publix Stores) and by phone at 919-834-4000. Groups of 15 or more can purchase tickets by logging onto ussoccer.com or calling (312) 528-1290.